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A review by the_coycaterpillar_reads
Darkest Hours by Sadie Hartmann, Mike Thorn
4.0
The Darkest Hours is a locked box of secrets. Pandora’s box taunting you, willing you to release her. It’s the elephant in the room. You try to ignore the push and pull but it has a canny skill on breaking you. This is my second outing with Mike Thorn, and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s a frank and dark investigation into how humanity can break, how it can seem, well, not human. Stories that wouldn’t be out of place on Halloween, the dark night enveloping you, the words setting goosebumps astray through-out your body, the fear rocking back and forward like a Newton’s Cradle.
Darkest Hours has something from all sub-genres to enjoy. The diversity, the representation was fantastic.
The opening story, wow, the imagination of the author was in full display with a fantastical plot that didn’t hold back in its imagery and its vivid dialogue. This is the type of story that reminds you of why you got into horror short stories in the first place. Its short, sharp, like a death blow. It also displays the many ranges of emotion, something that other genres can struggle with. It was bloody and brutal, and I could feel the metallic taste in my mouth. These stories know how to draw blood. The stories were so perfectly constructed, the urgency was palpable. If you are planning to read this over the period of a few days forget it – this beast will consume and be consumed in hours.
A New Kind of Drug is a superb cosmic horror. This story felt like a drug. Even though this was a short story, the characterisation is superbly built, Mike Thorn utilises the short story format and not one word is wasted. It appears that he can turn his hand to any sub-genre and make it his own.
A Serial Killer that has a penchant for stripping the flesh from a body. I don’t know exactly why but this story felt very Jeepers Creepers and I was more than happy with that comparison. I found this story terrifying with its close parallels to everyday people. Are we ever truly safe? Can you trust anyone in your life? The screams, the violence, the imagery had my gut churning.
Thank you, Mr. Thorn, for renewing my love for the short story format.
Darkest Hours has something from all sub-genres to enjoy. The diversity, the representation was fantastic.
The opening story, wow, the imagination of the author was in full display with a fantastical plot that didn’t hold back in its imagery and its vivid dialogue. This is the type of story that reminds you of why you got into horror short stories in the first place. Its short, sharp, like a death blow. It also displays the many ranges of emotion, something that other genres can struggle with. It was bloody and brutal, and I could feel the metallic taste in my mouth. These stories know how to draw blood. The stories were so perfectly constructed, the urgency was palpable. If you are planning to read this over the period of a few days forget it – this beast will consume and be consumed in hours.
A New Kind of Drug is a superb cosmic horror. This story felt like a drug. Even though this was a short story, the characterisation is superbly built, Mike Thorn utilises the short story format and not one word is wasted. It appears that he can turn his hand to any sub-genre and make it his own.
A Serial Killer that has a penchant for stripping the flesh from a body. I don’t know exactly why but this story felt very Jeepers Creepers and I was more than happy with that comparison. I found this story terrifying with its close parallels to everyday people. Are we ever truly safe? Can you trust anyone in your life? The screams, the violence, the imagery had my gut churning.
Thank you, Mr. Thorn, for renewing my love for the short story format.